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Olsson collects Freshman of the Week honors

Lawrence University’s Anton Olsson has been named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Freshman of the Week.

Olsson (Stromstad, Sweden), a rookie goaltender, won the award after picking up his first collegiate win in net this past weekend. Olsson stopped 38 shots in Lawrence’s 4-2 victory over Finlandia University this past Saturday.

Olsson recorded a .950 save percentage on the evening and upped his save percentage on the season to .897. Olsson now has a 3.82 goals against average for the season.

This is the first time this season Olsson has been honored by the MCHA, and it marks the sixth time this season a Lawrence player has won one of the league’s weekly awards.

Lawrence returns to action this weekend as it wraps up the regular season with a home-and-home series with Lake Forest College.

Lawrence holds off Lions to complete weekend sweep

Lawrence University held off a Finlandia University rally and posted a 4-2 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Brad Scurfield had a goal and two assists to pace Lawrence (11-9-3, 10-5-3 MCHA). Freshman goaltender Anton Olsson stopped 38 shots to earn his first collegiate victory for the Vikings.

Finlandia (7-15-0, 7-11-0) got on the board first just 1:16 into the game on Cole Workman’s goal. Lawrence tied it with just one second left in the first period when Jameson Raymond scored on the power play.

The Vikings grabbed a 2-1 edge with 3:09 left in the second period when Phil Bushbacher scored off assists from Kevin Killian and Matt Hughes.

Scurfield scored just 43 seconds into the third period with assists from Raymond and William Thoren to grab a 3-1 advantage.

The Lions pulled goaltender Mike Wuthrich in favor of an extra attacker, and Ryan Bradley scored for Finlandia with 1:11 left to trim Lawrence’s lead to 3-2. The Lions put Wuthrich back on the ice but pulled him again 26 seconds later, and Lawrence made them pay.

Thoren sealed the victory for the Vikings with an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left.

Lawrence swept the weekend series, which included a 5-2 victory on Friday night, and remains tied for first place in the MCHA’s Northern Division.

Box score

Vikings rally in final period to top Finlandia

Lawrence University scored four times in the final 13 minutes on Friday to rally for a 5-2 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Finlandia University at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Lawrence (10-9-3, 9-5-3 MCHA) trailed 2-1 after Finlandia (7-14-0, 7-10-0) scored early in the third, but the Vikings exploded to score the game’s final four goals.

Lawrence enjoyed a 58-25 edge in shots, but the Vikings managed only one goal through the first two periods. Phil Bushbacher’s goal at 1:51 of the second gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead, but Finlandia scored late in the second period to tie it and 2:16 into the third to take the lead.

William Thoren’s power-play goal for the Vikings at the 8:39 mark of the third tied the score at 2-2. Lawrence finished 1-for-7 on the power play. Finlandia was 0-for-4.

The Vikings then grabbed the lead on Paul Zuke’s goal at the 13:13 mark. Lawrence quickly poured it on when Sam Johnson scored just over a minute later at 14:19 to grab a 4-2 advantage.

The Lions then pulled goaltender Mike Wuthrich, and Lawrence’s Matt Hughes scored an empty-net goal just eight seconds later to give Lawrence a 5-2 lead with just 1:25 left.

Peter Emery made 23 saves and picked up his 10th win of the season for the Vikings. Wuthrich made 53 saves and took the loss.

The two teams wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings point toward MCHA playoffs

The Lawrence University hockey team won the battle last weekend, but winning the war is firmly on their minds.

The Vikings won both games in the Battle of Highway 41 series with Marian University last weekend. The two wins propelled Lawrence into a first-place tie with the Sabres in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association’s Northern Division. Lawrence and Marian are tied with 19 points, but the Vikings won the season series (2-0-2) with the Sabres and own the tiebreaker.

With four regular-season games remaining, the Vikings now control their own destiny when it comes to winning the Northern Division title. The division title gives that team a bye into the semifinals of the MCHA’s Harris Cup, where a NCAA Division III Tournament berth is at stake.

“It sounds cliché, but we really do focus on getting better each day,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “Our team undoubtedly wants to compete for a championship, but it is one step at a time right now. If we stick with our plan, the results will be there.”

The results show the Vikings riding a season-best four-game winning streak right now. Last weekend’s victories marked the first time the Vikings had defeated Marian since the final game of the 2006-07 season.

“We have had some program-building wins in the past against great teams like UW-Stevens Point, UW-Eau Claire, and St. Scholastica,” Szkodzinski said. “This series was probably the first time we have been able to put back-to-back big games together other than in the playoffs. It certainly meant a lot to our senior class to win both games.”

The Vikings collected the Battle of Highway 41 trophy, a 40-pound metal prize that the Sabres had held for the last two seasons, with the wins over Marian. Lawrence continued to show some of the traits against Marian that have provided the Vikings a formula for success.

“Our overall team defense has been very solid over the past eight, nine games,” Szkodzinski said. “We are paying attention to the details, taking away time and space, making it difficult for the opponent to gain ice, and we are protecting the puck well right now. Our goaltender has also given us a chance each night to get two points.”

The goaltender, freshman Peter Emery, pushed his season record to 9-7-2 with a 2.45 goals against average and .924 save percentage. Emery is on pace to break the season save percentage record (.918, Evan Johnson, 2008-09) and has a shot to reach the season wins record (13, Evan Johnson, 2010-11).

The Vikings are allowing only 3.10 goals per game, which would be second in school history to the 2.43 the Vikings gave up in 2008-09.

While the defense has been outstanding, the Vikings knew the offense would have a blue-collar feel. With no Gretzky-like scoring machine on the team, the Vikings have been scoring by committee. Szkodzinski hopes his team broke out a bit after scoring a season-best six goals this past Saturday.

“We still have a hard time putting the puck in the net at times,” Szkodzinski said. “It started to turn a little bit there on Saturday, but we know we have to be demanding at the net front to put goals on the board. Our guys have been working at finishing their rebound chances on a daily basis lately.”

Senior forward Matt Hughes is tops on the team with 13 goals, and junior forward Brad Scurfield leads the team with 24 points. Lawrence has 16 players with at least one goal, but Hughes is the only one in double figures. Lawrence has averaged 4.0 goals per game over its four-game winning streak after averaging 2.7 in the first 17 contests.

The defense is playing tough and the offense is coming around, and that is all part of the plan to put together a championship-caliber team.

“Our team has had their goals set for the entire season,” Szkodzinski said. “The main goal each week is to prepare for the next game. Our guys believe that if we stick to that plan, the larger goals will take care of themselves.”

Emery wins again

For the second consecutive week, Emery claimed one of the MCHA’s weekly awards.

The freshman from Goleta, Calif., was named the Defensive Player of the Week after winning a pair of games against Marian. Emery was chosen as Freshman of the Week the previous week.

In the two games against Marian, Emery posted a .938 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average.

Alumni hoops this weekend

The Lawrence men’s and women’s basketball programs have their alumni games on Saturday morning. The women’s game is set for 9:30 a.m., and the men’s game is at 11 a.m. More than two dozen former stars from the men’s program are set to play in their alumni game.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Emery wins Defensive Player of the Week honors

Lawrence University’s Peter Emery was named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week after the Vikings posted a weekend sweep of Marian University.

Emery (Goleta, Calif.), a freshman goaltender, was in net for both of Lawrence’s victories last weekend in the Battle of Highway 41 series.

Emery made 50 saves in last Friday’s 4-3 overtime victory and followed that with 25 saves in the Vikings’ 6-2 victory on Saturday. The two wins allowed Lawrence to claim the Battle of Highway 41 series, an annual event contested with Marian, which is just 40 miles south of Lawrence along Highway 41.

For the two games, Emery posted a .938 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average. On the season, Emery improved his record to 9-7-2 and has a .924 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average.

This is the first time this season Emery has been named Defensive Player of the Week. Emery has twice been chosen as the MCHA Freshman of the Week.

Lawrence, which is now tied for first place in the MCHA Northern Division, returns to action this weekend when it hosts Finlandia University in a two-game series.

Lawrence rolls past Sabres to win Battle of Highway 41

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Lawrence University got off to a fast start and rolled to a 6-2 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Marian University on Saturday afternoon at the Blue Line Ice Center.

The victory capped a weekend sweep of the Sabres and gave Lawrence the trophy in the Battle of Highway 41 series. Lawrence also moved into a first-place tie with the Sabres in the MCHA Northern Division.

Brad Scurfield and Huck Saunders scored two goals apiece for the Vikings (9-9-3, 8-5-3 MCHA), and Gustav Lindgren and Erik Soderlund both had two assists.

Scurfield scored just 10 seconds into the game off passes from Matt Hughes and Soderlund to stake the Vikings to a 1-0 lead. Saunders added a goal just two minutes later, and the Vikings were up 2-0.

Lawrence made it 3-0 at the 12:17 mark of the first when Saunders scored off a pass from Paul Zuke.

Marian got goals from Brendan Roberts and Chris Thompson in the second period to trim the margin to 3-2. Phil Bushbacher then scored a power-play goal as time expired in the second period to give Lawrence a 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Lawrence sealed the win on Hughes’ power-play goal just 4:56 into the final period. Scurfield then added the final goal at the 11:36 mark.

Peter Emery stopped 25 shots to pick up the victory for the Vikings. Josh Baker made the start and took the loss after playing the first two periods for Marian (9-8-4, 8-5-3).

Lawrence piled up a 45-27 edge in shots.

Lawrence returns to action next weekend when its hosts Finlandia University in a weekend series.

Box score

Vikings edge Illinois College

Andrew Kline scored a pair of key baskets down the stretch, and the Lawrence University men’s basketball team got a big defensive stop to down Illinois College 77-76 in a Midwest Conference game on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Chris Siebert paced Lawrence (8-11, 7-8 MWC) with 24 points. Tyler Crisman added 14 points for the Vikings, and Ryan DePouw had 11.

Brandon Berry led Illinois College (4-14, 2-12) with 17 points, and Zeke Light added 14.

In a game that featured 13 lead changes and 10 ties, neither team led by more than four points. The game was tied at 68-68 after Light hit a 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining.

Kline countered for the Vikings by burying a 15-foot jumper to give Lawrence a 70-68 edge. After a Craig Bals free throw trimmed the lead to one with 2:16 left, Kline scored on a layup off a great pass from DePouw to put the Vikings up 72-69 with 1:49 left.

Bals countered with a layup for the Blueboys to cut the lead to 72-71 with 1:27 left. Conor Klusendorf was fouled and hit a pair of free throws for the Vikings with 1:00 left, but Berry’s layup cut the margin to 74-73 with 47 seconds left.

Crisman was then fouled and hit one free throw with 18 seconds left to give Lawrence a 75-73 lead. Light then attempted a 3-pointer with eight seconds left, but it was off the mark and Brian Gryszkiewicz grabbed the rebound for Lawrence.

Gryszkiewicz made both free throws with five seconds left to put Lawrence up 77-73, and Spencer Campbell then hit a 3-pointer for the Blueboys with 1.4 seconds left. The Vikings were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock.

Lawrence returns to action on Feb. 11 when it hosts Beloit College.

Box score

Vikings top Marian in overtime thriller

Matt Hughes scored with 10 seconds left in overtime Friday night to lift Lawrence University to a 4-3 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Marian University at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Hughes took the puck from a Marian defender behind the net, and his wraparound goal gave Lawrence (8-9-3, 7-5-3 MCHA) the victory. The game was part of the third annual Battle of Highway 41 series, which wraps up Saturday in Fond du Lac.

Hughes and Gustav Lindgren both scored twice for the Vikings, who had to rally twice just to force the overtime. Peter Emery stopped 50 shots to earn the victory for Lawrence. Randy Willis stopped 35 shots for Marian (9-7-4, 8-4-4) and took the loss.

Marian jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 11:07 into the contest on goals from Bryce Wilson and Matt Berger. The Vikings cut the lead in half on Lindgren’s goal off a pass from Jameson Raymond 5:18 into the second period. Lawrence then tied it just 11 seconds into the third period when Hughes scored off passes from Brad Scurfield and Phil Bushbacher.

Marian grabbed a 3-2 lead when Brendan Roberts scored at the 8:09 mark of the third. Lawrence tied it with 3:07 left when Lindgren scored off assists from Raymond and Sam Johnson.

Marian had taken the only five shots of the overtime when Hughes netted the game-winner with just 10 ticks left.

Box score